What a truly amazing day! Bryan has had issues at work, Sam has been hideous-firstly he drew with pen all over the front door AND the wall. Then he poo'd and wiped it all over his toys AND the wall, then he bit the top off of a pen filling his mouth with ink (thankfully they are kids 'non toxic' pens, but still!) Molly has been fussy all day and feeding every hour and a half and not sleeping at all. The house is a wreck and Ive felt like driving off hahahaha JOY

Molly was 8 weeks old this week, she weighs 10lbs 3oz (tiny little thing) she eats around 3oz of breastmilk every 3 hours and her feeds takes forever as she likes to have half, then pause for some burping and a little break then 10 or so minutes later she will take a little more, then we have to have another break! VERY different from her brother who was packing on the pounds at this age and would drink as much as I let him haha!

Bryan is TDY to Alaska at the moment, he has been gone for 2 weeks and we have another week left. There have been some stressful moments, like when I was feeding Molly and Sam decided it would be a wonderful idea to stuff toilet paper down the toilet and flush it 6 times resulting in toilet water an inch deep over the bathroom floor. I really enjoyed putting my hand down the toilet 1st thing in the morning, its a real recipe for a great day let me tell you! Other than that though, we're plodding along. I for one, cannot WAIT for Bryan to get home. It will be nice to be able to go for a wee without taking 2 children, it will be lovely not to have to plan showers strategically around when both children are napping (a rare event in itself) and then rush like crazy in case one wakes up

Here is Molly in her pretty purple nappy that Auntie Karla got for her! She loves her baby gym but can only go under when Sam is in bed having his nap as he thinks that he has to be under there with her...and even ON her if at all possible! Daddy left today for a few weeks to go and play war games for work..booo!! will I survive 3 weeks without him?! I think so!

Sam loves his baby sister. When she cries he lovingly tries to shove a juice cup in her face. He diligently prods at her face pointing out her 'eye's' and tries to get his pudgy fingers in her little mouth to assess her biting abilities.

The differences between Molly and Sam is astounding. It's hard to believe they come from the same genetic stock. Sam was a content baby, he loved to eat and piled on the pounds quickly. He was happy to sit in his bouncer and didn't care who held him. Molly on the other hand is fussy, she makes each feed a trial and will frequently only settle if she is being held by me or in the sling...on ME! She is much more 'delicate' and ...well, girlie haha!

Generally things are going well, she is drinking expressed Mummy milk during the day and 'on tap' mummy milk at night. Its just what works for us. She will drink around 2oz every 3ish hours and likes to be carried or sleep on my chest the rest of the time. The nights are not too bad, she only wakes a few times and thankfully Sam is sleeping through!

Molly is the queen of fussiness. She cries a lot more than Sam ever did. Our evenings are usually spent pacing the floor with her or trying to work out what the problem is. This week Bryan goes back to work (well, tonight) and the AirForce-being the lovely things that they are have decided to put him on the night shift (12hrs) -just what we need after me having major abdominal surgery and a new born...grrr!! so I will be pacing alone for the next week at least-JOY!!

Molly had her '2 week well baby check' today and she is over her birth weight WOOHOO!! I had been wondering if she was breastfeeding enough and/or for long enough and it would seem she has. Her weight today was 7lbs 12.3oz! She is growing well too and has grown half an inch in length in the last 2 weeks. Of course her head is on the 98%tile which I would expect as she seems to have inherited the 'giant headed gene' from my side of the family! Sam has it too!

Here is a video of her when she was just a few hours old, thought I would post it now, even though its 'outdated' as when ever I have a moment to take another video of her lately, she's asleep!!




As for Sam, he is coping a little better this week. Less tantrums and crying and more 'normal' Samuel behaviour. He has developed a HUGE fondness for the word 'NO!' which is now his standard answer to absolutely everything, even if he wants to say 'yes'. He spends much of his time in his playroom (actually a cupboard!) which is where he is in this photo-with his beloved 'choo-choo's' and 'diggers'. Also, as you can see on the floor-he has developed a love of 'money'. He tips out his money box and fills his pockets with the coins.

New Arrival

Its been a long time, a busy month...life changing even!

Around the time of my last Blog entry we discovered that our second baby was in the breech presentation. All my stress and effort went into trying to get the baby to turn so we could have another wonderful, med-free delivery. It was not to be, even after spending hundreds on acupuncturists, chiropractors etc etc baby Brown number 2 decided that 'head up' was the way to be. At 37 weeks an ultrasound scan reveled that the cord was wrapped twice around the baby's neck and therefore poor baby just couldn't turn.

On the 21st of April we had a scheduled cesarean section and Molly Cate Brown was born. She weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 19.5 inches long. A HUGE, HUGE surprise as my 'motherly intuition' has told me I was having another boy-obviously my 'intuition centre' in my brain is broken! I was beyond thrilled though. A big boy and now a baby girl. We have the 'perfect family'. The cesarean went amazingly well. Our wishes were respected and Molly was placed 'skin-to-skin' within minutes, we also received no hassle after declining the Erythromycin eye ointment and the hepatitis B vaccination. We also refused the 'hospital policy' of 2hours 'compulsory nursery time' and the 'compulsory infant sponge bath' and none of this was met with any disapproval. We got the obligatory 'contaminated baby' sign on her isolette due to the lack of bathing, but that was good as everyone who touched her wore gloves!! Molly was jaundiced within a day or so of her arrival. This was no surprise as her big brother had been too. But here in America it seems like it was much more of a big deal. Where as with Sam I was told 'just feed him and put him in the sun' Mollys jaundice was met with blood tests and eventually phototherapy during our last night at the hospital. She HATED wearing the little sunglasses and that night was truely miserable. Bryan and I were both deliriously tired and poor Molly didnt want to sleep at all. It all paid off though and Mollys bilirubin levels decreased enough that we were allowed home after 3days.

Since being at home things have been a little insane. Sam is struggling to accept he is no longer the only child in the house and has been rather naughty since Molly came home. He loves 'baby Molly' but hates just about everything else-including me most of the time.

Molly sleeps well, and eats pretty well although breastfeeding is still a struggle but we're managing.